The fucking maniacs at Pitchforkmedia have somewhat foisted another maddeningly stupid list on us, and like most of them it often seems eerily correct. In a way that makes me very angry.
Now it is time for all of us to stop blogging for just one fucking second and throw in our own "No [shitty single only noteworthy when refracted through own idiosyncratic, insular musical worldview] !?!?!?!?! PITCHFORK IS A JACKASS" etc No Shark-Fin Blues? No Suicide Invoice? No - wait a second. Was Reigning Sound even ON that list? [read through again, come back with more reasons to be upset, repeat]
Are you talking about the list that has Missy Eliott, JayZ, Beyonce, and Outkast as 4 of the singers of the top 10 singles of the 2000s? Yeah, that list is a dingleberry on the bunghole of music.
Originally posted by chaos: Are you talking about the list that has Missy Eliott, JayZ, Beyonce, and Outkast as 4 of the singers of the top 10 singles of the 2000s? Yeah, that list is a dingleberry on the bunghole of music.
Yeah, it's kinda disconcerting how Pitchfork has really become a bastion of mainstream hip-hop. The top part of that list is almost entirely dominated by electronic/dance and hip-hop tracks with a few mainstream pop acts thrown in.
I also think it's pretty contradictory (hypocritical?) how Pitchfork lavishes praise on mainstream pop and hip-hop singles and then, as a rule, utterly dismisses the album-length efforts of these major acts, that is when they even deign to review them. I don't see how you can have it both ways.
-------------------------------------------------- I have no race prejudices, and I think I have no color prejudices nor caste prejudices nor creed prejudices. All that I care to know is that a man is a human being—that is enough for me; he can't be any worse.
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What bothers me most is their choice of #1 song; B.O.B. by Outkast. I mean, are you fucking serious?! That song is a goddamned joke, it's like a Weird Al song. And it's even more laughable when you think of the thousands of amazing songs that it out-ranked.
I also think it's pretty contradictory (hypocritical?) how Pitchfork lavishes praise on mainstream pop and hip-hop singles and then, as a rule, utterly dismisses the album-length efforts of these major acts, that is when they even deign to review them. I don't see how you can have it both ways.
How is that confusing? One great single does not a good album make. And it's pretty well known that mainstream acts often sell albums around their radio hit, hence those stickers on the cases that read "The album featuring X Single!!!"
I don't understand how you can dislike B.O.B., an obviously fucking awesome track with breakneck rapping, funny one-liners, sick production (especially those electronic blips that start at 1:45), and a prophetic chorus (for this decade at least). I also think the song they picked for Jay-Z was wrong (IZZO is better), and "Crazy in Love" and "Get Ur Freak On" are overrated, but none of those are bad songs.
the only reason why I don't like pitchfork lists is that they publish WHICH WRITERS VOTED FOR WHICH SONGS. people worry about what their peers will think! anybody who has written for any publication knows this. and, thus, the results are skewed. people include more top-40 hits than are necessary because top-40 songs are kitsch in the pitchfork community. top-40 songs get you street cred. the songs in the 50-21 category, imo, are way better than 20-1
These days not even a morsel this robust draws more than a few scraggly cats out of the shadows. Sigh.
As far as the "pitchfork luvs mainstream -_-" or "pitchfork says yes to rap: kitsch? irony?" thing, I think you've all got it a little wrongish. The singles list, much more than the albums list, is more a record of pop touchstones and landmarks than a statement about the overall beauty or quality or inspiration involved in a song. Riotously blogged-about singles become important cultural moments. "Mainstream rap" singles do the same thing via radio/TV proliferation. The 'fork do seem to pride themselves on confounding the expectations and prejudices aboard the many college-radio-devotee minds that sail in to their assumedly safe/sympathetic harbor. But I think those decisions are mostly made for real "reasons." Brilliant production, virtuoso pop-song construction, paradigm-changing instrumentation or approach...they notice thangs like this in what most of us dismiss as "shitty radio music" and feel it necessary to point them out. After all, who would need to be reminded of those moments more than a bunch of jaded, mainstream-loathing Constantines fans like us? We're their readership, and I think they DO do it for us. Whatever though. I kinda hated it too.
I agree the list is weak, but lets get something straight: Outkast is great, Stankonia is great, and B.O.B is great. Complain all you want about Beyonce or Rhianna. Outkast is in a completely different league.
